TITLE OF THE ARTICLE: The Power of the Supreme Court to Entertain Appeals Directly from the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee, the Case of Akintokun v LPDC Revisited
AUTHORS:
B.A. Oloworaran, LL.M, BL
E.U. Oloworaran, LL.M, BL
ABSTRACT
The Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee is the body armed with the power to adjudicate as of first instance on issues bordering on the discipline of legal practitioners. The constitution of the LPDC, its powers and the right of appeal from its decisions are issues much debated about. Decisions of the apex court as well as juridical opinion on the issues appear not to have offered a permanent resolution to the issues, paramount amongst which is the judicial body with the power to entertain appeal from the decision of the LPDC. This paper considers the laws relevant to the issue, the decisions of the courts as well as the available legal literature to reach a conclusion that whereas the decision in Akintokun’s case was reached in error, there is the need for an amendment to the Legal Practitioners Act to rectify the anomalies presently existing in the disciplinary structure of legal practitioners.